​One of the more common topics in the ongoing discussion about business is productivity. Simply put, productivity is an essential ingredient in any endeavor. It is defined as “a measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, or system in converting inputs into useful outputs.”
 
Dictionary definitions aside, there are plenty of ideas in 2015 about what productivity is and what a business must do to be productive. Some think tamping down on your employees’ social media use might ensure productivity. Other businesses find success, believe to not, in providing frequent healthy snacks. Rodd Wagner at Fast Company wrote recently that productivity has much to do with pay.
 

Others cite the things you do and don't do in a workplace as the key. According to Business Insider, there’s even a Second World War era resource also known as the “Simple Sabotage Field Manual” that cites exactly what the opposite of productive activity is. The Manual suggests several activities if you want to make any work environment inefficient, bureaucratic and unproductive.
 
But what does productivity really mean in your business? Is it producing a certain number of finished products? Or is it providing solutions to solve the problems of your customers? Every business is different but here is some practical advice that can help.
 
Stick to Your Best Work
Habits do matter. But where you direct your attention and efforts also matters. Whatever your industry, there is one common factor that can make a business productive. You must always recalibrate your activities — throughout the day and in the long-term too — to focus on what you do best.
 
Longtime General Electric CEO Jack Welch once famously said that a business should be first or second in its industry and leveraging what it does best. Welch went on to say that if a firm can’t be top tier in its market or what it provides to customers, then it should exit that line of business.
 
This wisdom from Welch isn’t just for multinational corporations; it is adaptable to any business. If you’re a gourmet personal chef, your core skills have much more to do with preparing great meals than great paperwork. And if you fix cars, you should be spending time doing repairs for your customers, not designing your brochure.
 
Running a business takes work. Though there are many moving parts, remember what your primary talents are and why you offer them to your customers.
 
Avoid Losing Focus
One of the worst things that can happen (whether you sell goods or provide services) is getting taken off track. Focusing on non-core activities can waste time, resulting in "busy work".
 
Natalie Waters, a contributor to Business Insider, says it’s pretty common for every one of us to get caught up in emails. Responding to requests for information, sending follow up notes and even sorting out the stuff you don't want to read all takes time . . . time away from valuable projects. Sure, email is a necessary evil but, if you are not careful you could lose 30% of your day to it. Setting limits is essential.
 
Moreover, Waters writes, many business owners also get caught up in doing too many tasks. Putting it a different way, business guru Tony Robbins says that you should ditch your to-do list altogether.
 
When you let yourself become too busy to the point of losing contact with customers or activities involved in the critical parts of your business, consider finding back-up. If you need to hire a part time worker or intern to help with administrative work, writing your business blog, or even running errands, go ahead and do so. You’ll free yourself to focus on your core business.
 
Hand Off What You Don’t Do Best
Taking the last point a bit further, remember that many other small and medium-sized companies exist for the explicit purpose of helping others run their businesses.
 
The New York Times Magazine endorsed the idea of turning over functions at both the business and personal level. In the same manner in which you might hire a trainer to organize (and hold you accountable) your workout regimen versus winging it, hiring experts in everything from your marketing collateral to legal advice just makes sense.
 
If the company delivery van needed new spark plugs, would you install them yourself? Or if the office computers needed new software, you would probably buy it versus writing the code yourself, right? Don't be afraid to hire specialists to help tackle what you don't do best.
 
At Idea Custom Solutions, we know that most businesses can benefit from a do-it-for-me solution for a range of design and marketing services. Whether it is graphic files for decorating or imprinting promotional products for your customers. or brochures, proposals and business cards to market your business, you can tap our expertise to help you stay on-task with the most important thing: doing what you do best.